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Job Search in
Retirement: Self-Evaluation and Self- Assessment

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Looking
for an interesting and fulfilling job when you are
retired is not easy. To be successful and end up with a
job you genuinely like, you should go through a sort of self
assessment. There are many things where your age
will be of benefit in your job search and, especially,
also in your future job. But there are also things that
will be difficult to do. Therefore, don't try to compete
with a 20 year old! Compete where it matters, where you
can genuinely offer something to your potential employer.
The self assessment is mainly for yourself, it is a sort
of "get-to-know-myself" of things which you
always knew were lurking in you, but never really found
out about!

Self
Assessment

This is not
a psychological test or some other
evaluation method. It simply provides you with an
organized way to find out what you can
offer and what you are willing
to contribute in terms of ability and
effort to a new job after retirement.

Many
people find going to a career coach
or a career consultant useful.
If you go and see one, remember that the
better you are prepared for that meeting, the
more you will get out of it. The key
contribution the career coach will
make is to help you see things better. His
function is not to push you into a specific
direction. The career coach/ counselor should be
a mixture of a devil's advocate and someone
who encourages you. It is not necessarily
the career suggestions he makes to you that are
important, but rather the new thoughts he plants
in your mind. You can, after a session, go home
and develop these thoughts further

The US
government has set up a useful internet
infrastructure for career advice and job
seekers: The
Career-One-Stop Centers. They
offer, amongst other things, skills evaluation
tests. You can access the centers also on the
Internet. They even have on-line career coaches.
You can also go and visit one of their offices.
To find the offices nearest to you, click
here

The most important benefit
of a new job in your retirement should be your
individual happiness. If you need the
money, your choices might become more restricted.
Though, even under those circumstances, you
should put some thought into selecting a
job that will make you fill content and happy.

You
should therefore start your job search with one
or several sessions about knowing
yourself! The evaluation we are talking
about here is not so much about your objective
technical abilities, but more about how well you
know yourself.

Ten Points for Evaluating
and Selecting what Kind of Job you should get
after your Retirement

What
is my Goal? Self Fulfillment? Earn
Money, because I need to(?), or work because I
want to work?

What are my
strengths and weaknesses? (if you really
need to, take a know-yourself test in a Career
Book!). This is your
perception of things!

Where or
in what do I have my highest confidence
levels? (list five items and see whether
they match your strengths!)

Make
a list of activities (jobs, work etc.) that you
would like to do. Then match that list
to your Strengths and Weaknesses and your level
of confidence in matching the requirements of the
activities with what you bring to the table.

Make a list
of places where you would like to work
(You can have dreams, but be realistic about it -
"I would like to work on the moon",
does not help you very much!

What
impact will starting to work have on your
surrounding (family, friends, my hobbies
etc.) Think hard about that and write it down,
because you do not want to make people around you
unhappy! Remember, at this stage of your life,
you want to work because you desire to!)

Ask
friends or former colleagues (or your
former bosses) you worked with, what your
strengths and weaknesses are , i.e. what were or
are you good at? Be careful in evaluating these
comments because often people will tell you what
they think you want to hear! Remember, you get
the best self assessment if you are honest with
yourself!

Based on
the above, start to match job functions
(or titles) with your wishes and abilities?
You should come up with a final list of ten jobs,
then narrow them down to five or so! Do you like
any of the Options? If not, go back and start
afresh!

Once you
have gone through that process, start to
look for companies, recruiters or other sources
with information about who is hiring retired
people (not everyone does and you want
to stay clear of groups or companies that just
need a "man/girl Friday" to do
every menial task other employees can think of
and want to avoid doing!)

The final
phase is finding and selecting the job you want
to do. The last thing you want is to
start a job, then find out you do not like it,
resign, and then start somewhere else. That is
stressful and will not do much for your own
confidence either. Thus, selecting your
job, asking the right questions during
the interview process and starting with a really
positive attitude is key to a successful
return to work. Remember, you work because you
like to work, it makes you happy and fulfilled!

There are areas in which maturity
and seriousness of purpose are key elements that
drive an activity or are the essence of a job. Obviously,
that should apply to every job, though sadly, it does
not. Many people find satisfaction in
volunteering. There are numerous careers and job
paths in this field.

Some
useful Books you should consult from amazon.com

Another avenue is starting your own
business. Today, the internet provides a large number of
avenues that offer business entry with minimal funds. You
still have to do a lot of hard work and there is always
the risk of failing. A friend of mine, who used to be the
CEO of a fairly large high tech company, receiving a nice
retirement package from his former job, started an office
cleaning company in a medium sized Midwestern town. He
used almost no capital (I think it was $200.00 or so) and
now, after two years, employs 50 people. He thoroughly
enjoys building his company. And yet, you would not think
that cleaning offices could be a challenge for a
mathematician! If you are interested in that or similar
avenues, have a look at an associated site that shows you
in some detail, how to
establish a company with an Internet presence.

Just one
last word, when you try to start yourself: Stay
clear of the more lunatic schemes for quick money that
are offered on the Internet and on TV (the classic
saying on one of these advertisements is
:"......I like the lifestyle.....and the money is
good too......!"). As a general rule, money cannot
be earned whilst you sleep! If it sounds to be too good,
it usually is. Even if you do not need the money, losing
it will create stress and discord in relationships. It is
certainly the one thing you do not want during your
retirement.

So
where do you go from here?

Well,
the next step is creating a good resume, using networking
as a means of finding out more about jobs and where they
are located and finally going for an interview.

We have
put together a page with some thoughts on how to
write a resume. Besides our own thoughts there
are links to professional resume writing services. Often
they provide a useful investment, and you should consider
it.

There is
also a page on networking. It has become so
prevalent in the USA, that it is an important tool in
your search for a job.

An interview
advice page is also available here. It would
be a real pity, if you had made all this effort and then
blew it with a poor interview. Have a look at the page,
you might lean something from it.

And
finally, you might find that you should start your job
search with a small advertisement on the Internet. We
offer a small Job Search Advertisement for 60 days for
$9.99 or for 120 days $14.99. Go here,
to see the format of the advertsand purchase the
advertisement. You can also use your local newspapers.
But remember, that advert will only appear once, while
here it stays up for 60 or 120 days!

Being a
job site, we also have links to recruiters and companies
who employ seasoned, retired employees. Whether it is
part-time or full-time, you might find a job there.